The port of Bilbao will have a second container terminal
The Central Breakwater, the last large concession area of the port of Bilbao, is the object of desire for the implementation of both logistical and industrial activities and since the beginning of its construction various purposes have been considered for the more than 60 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. Thus, interest has dropped in installing a terminal for vehicle logistics, industrial facilities linked to project cargo or a second container terminal as a hub for transshipment to alleviate congestion in northern European ports.
Finally, this is the option chosen by the Board of Directors of the Bilbao Port Authority, which has unanimously approved the call for a public tender for the award of a concession for the construction and operation of a maritime container terminal in this surface
The port of Bilbao aspires to attract regular direct transoceanic lines and to capture transit traffic
It should be remembered that the container traffic in the port of bilbao It has been declining in recent years, both in the merchandise transported and in the number of containers. According to the data offered by Puertos del Estado (one month of November), merchandise has fallen by 3.73% in 2022, slightly exceeding five million tons. Regarding the number of teus, the drop is even greater, since in eleven months 7.4% fewer units were moved, slightly exceeding 450,000 teus. Less than 3,500 TEUs were transshipment, a magnitude that is to be strengthened.
If we refer to the last year before the pandemic, which was not the best in the port of Bilbao either, in 2019 6,717,568 tons of containerized goods moved through the Biscayan enclave, totaling 628,426 TEUs.
now and then
The company CSP Terminal Ibérica de Bilbao (CSPB) operates the only container terminal so far in the port of Bilbao. With its two berthing lines, a 43.8-hectare yard, a modern rail port terminal with connections to different points on the Iberian Peninsula and an automated access system for local merchandise flows, CSPB has become a reliable partner in the chain of supply. With a capacity of 950,000 TEUs/year, the terminal has 1,155 meters of berthing line and 21 meters of draft, it is equipped with 540 outlets for refrigerated containers, two Super Post Panamax cranes and 4 Panamax cranes; 36 specialized machines (19 RTGs); and 7 entrance doors and 3 automatic exits. These are some of the magnitudes of a terminal that is certified as OEA, offers the VGM service and has a 4-track railway terminal, with a capacity of up to 180,000 teus/year.
As already published, the Espigón Central is being finished in two phases, where the first has an operating area of more than 30 hectares. After granting a part of these lands in concession to a conventional merchandise operator, there are currently 232,530 square meters available.
The construction of the second phase will begin in 2023 and will have an operating area of more than 30 hectares. In this sense, the optimal public and operational use of this new infrastructure constitutes, from the point of view of port interest, “a decision of great depth and relevance” for the port of Bilbao.
Income, traffic and investments
In order to obtain the best use of the port public domain and an adequate participation of the operators in objective conditions of equality, the Bilbao Port Authority has proceeded to the publication, in the BOE of Wednesday, January 25, of the announcement calling for the tender public Proposals may be submitted within a maximum period of three months from the aforementioned publication.
As communicated by the Port Authority, the criteria of the tender revolve around three main aspects, which will be assessed based on the contents of the technical and economic proposals presented by the bidders: income for the Bilbao Port Authority, generated traffic and programmed investments. The contest resolution proposal will fall on the proposal that obtains the highest score according to the contest criteria, provided that it reaches a minimum score of 25 points in relation to the evaluation criteria of the technical proposal and 50 points in the total score.
Those interested may opt for part or all of the surfaces available in both phases of the Espigón Central. Thus, you will be able to opt for the partial or total occupation of the spaces available in Phase 1 of the Central Breakwater, the considerable 232,530 square meters. Another option that is presented is to choose to partially or totally occupy both Phase 1 and Phase 2, subject in any case to the rules established for this purpose in the tender specifications.
The concession will be for a maximum period of 40 years and it is established that the minimum permissible annual traffic is one teu/m² of plot under concession, so that the proposal must equal or exceed said figure.
Attract new lines and transfers
The improvement of the connectivity and intermodality of the port of Bilbao and the capture of new traffic and shipping lines constituting strategic objectives of the Bilbao Port Authority, as long as having maritime and regular routes through which the productive, manufacturing and economic fabric Associated with the Hinterland of influence of the port of Bilbao, it can import and export its merchandise, entails lower costs, reduces the impact of polluting emissions, reducing logistics deadlines and contributes to substantially improve its competitiveness, making the port a key agent to improve quality , efficiency, innovation and sustainability of its environment.
Thus, the decision to allocate to container traffic the last large port area reclaimed from the sea in the sheltered dock of the Abra Exterior is in line with these objectives and is the result of various consultation processes that point to an opportunity for traffic growth of containerized merchandise in the port of Bilbao, contrasted by the express interest shown by several international operators, who confirm that this port has a favorable position to be a real alternative in order to face the problem of congestion in the ports of Northern Europe , to which is added the possibility of attracting regular direct transoceanic lines and capturing transit traffic.
In this context, the implementation of a container terminal will have a relevant impact on activity, employment and the economy, with the increase in the logistics activity of the port of Bilbao and the competitiveness of its hinterland. In this regard, it is projected that this new container terminal should be operated in a regime open to general use, as a terminal, and the growth in traffic figures that are expected to be generated throughout the life of the concession will be taken into account for its award. and all those elements whose objective is competitive exploitation, optimal use of the public domain under concession and consistency between the exploitation proposal and the business project presented.